Monday, January 25, 2010

The first blog post of the New Year. I've been busy. I just recently got back from a trip to Hong Kong, and am getting over the jet lag and the technology hangover. HK is a city that thrives on technology. Whether it is the superfast and smooth airport express, or the numerous escalators and lifts that the people of hong kong live with, there's something that makes you feel awed by how technology dependent the city is. Not that they have a choice. The kind of distances one has to travel and the numerous levels of public transportation all mean that walking would literally be a pain in the leg. That said I once did decide to walk and not take one of those flat escalators and it did take me quite a while.

So what did I do in this gadget mecca, you ask? Well, I hunted for that gadget which is considered to be one of the most sought after items in the tech world, the iPhone 3 gs. Now just before I left I did find this phone selling here in India, albeit in the grey market. So why buy it in HK when I could get it at a better price here ( I lost a bit on the rupee to HK dollar conversion by using a card and not paying cash.) you ask? Well for one HK is one of those few places where you can pick up an officially unlocked phone , allowing me to use it with whatever carrier I choose.

I was surprised that even there this was not an easy phone to lay my hands on. I had done some research as to where I might pick one up, but when the day dawned it was a bit of luck actually getting one. Though the official apple reseller DG Life didn't have one I did manage to find another shop at the Windsor house mall ( a computer mall on the 11th floor!).

For a guy who is upgrading from a Nokia 6 series phone that is almost 4 years old, this is quite a jump. I am now tethered to the net on mobile more often. The keyboard is quite amazing, being able to figure out what I type even though the keys look a bit cramped. The fact that this entire post is written on my iPhone is a testament to the ease. I have also discovered the joys of free wifi hotspots, Google maps and am developing an apptitude, pun intended.

I am always one who enjoys tinkering and have already read a lot on jailbreaking. So lo and behold I jailbroke my phone using blackrain, only to revert it back to factory settings soon after. Such things are not meant for the faint of heart. For now I am content with all the freebies itunes store has to offer and the fond memories of Hong Kong, more on both later!